Any 14900 Omega Constellation case needs careful scrutiny because it is one of the most ubiquitous of the faked dog-leg lugged cases around. There was a bit of a lull on eBay for a while but I notice them creeping back from time to time, and It's hard to say if another batch has been shipped from the Orient or it's just the earlier ones being recycled. Never-the-less, extreme care should be exercised.

The latest fake to surface is shown in the capture of this current eBay listing. The seller watches-n-such is also selling an appalling "homage" to a black Constellation pie pan dial, probably from the same source. In this instance, the "n-such" being sold as NOS may come back to bite watches-n-such in the posterior.

While Constellations are not the most faked vintage pieces by a long shot (Rolex models from the 60s and 70s have that dubious honour), cases 14000, 14902, 167.005 and 168.005 in stainless steel have been targeted over time.

If you're not aware of the checks to make when assessing one of the above models for purchase, please review this essay.

26 comments:

Hi Desmond, Toronto Connie man here.Recently I viewed Stainless Steel Constellation at a reputable dealer that I have bought several watches from. I scrutinized this watch for a very long time, using all your criteria and most things checked out. He said he had bought it at a watch fair in California. It had Cal. 564 movement. One detail concerned me. It had T Swiss T on the dial, but no Lume on hands or dial. This was a big no-no for me and I passed on it. I'm thinking this case and new dial. Maybe old gold case was smelted and movement reused? Unfortunately I did not get pictures. A week later the watch was sold.What do you think?

I have a question about the case of eBay number 261291973345: ST 168.017Both the Omega Vintage Database and your Fullcalibresdata.V8.pdf reserve this number for a "C" Constellation. The case is not a "C". Hmmm...

What also strikes me is that the numbers are not stamped into the case, but are embossed on top of the case.

Hi Peter, You're right, too good to be true. From what I can see the case is genuine and the dial is genuine. The case back has been taken from a C-Shape model and is incorrect.

I suspect, but only confirmation from the Omeha Museum through an extract would verify, that the case back was damaged when someone tried to open it, probably gouged, and some silly devil has thought to swap it with an incorrect case back number. The embossing may well be just a trick of the camera, but finding the correct 168.005 case back wouldnt be too difficult.

You may pay up to 200 dollars for the case back, and in its present state I would say the watch has just about reached its value.

Hello again Desmond, Being very new to vintage watch I have a question hopefully you can help clarify. For this particular watch what indicated the refinished dial, please don't get me wrong I am not doubting your opinion at all, I just find it difficult to separate a good refinished and original dial, I tried comparing the watch with many pictures of the original watches and still couldn't tell :)

As I mentioned before before the refinishing job was a fairly good example. The key element with this dial is that the printing of the upper case lettering and the Constellation lettering is much less finer than the original printing.

The Constellation lettering is far too thick, for example, and the upper case lettering also looks as though it is flat printing rather than embossed printing.

Thank you for your great write-up. I'm new to the Connie world but have found one I'm very interested in. The essay you attached as me concerned though. This is the listing:http://forums.watchuseek.com/f29/fs-unmolested-historically-significant-omega-constellation-chronometer-168-005-a-2655129.html

Only one picture remains, but the seller has sent me a few more. The things that stick out are the failed MOY-test, the faceted lugs, and the dial markers look odd for some reason. What do you think? Fake?

First, I must confess that Im highly impressed by your knowledge and applaude your Omegas dedication. Im looking ton buy an Omega for my significant other and have been burn by an impulsive buy of a 1973 Omega Genève which turned out to be A disappointment.

Im reaching out to you as I don't want to make the same mistake twice... I found a Constellation and its seems like a nice watch, no redflag so far but the price is good so I'm hesitant. Can you tell me what you think of this listing ?

Hi Desmond, Waiting to get my first vintage watch and have fallen in love with 60’s Constellations. Can you tell me what you think of this one?https://www.chrono24.com/en/omega/constellation-1967-vintage-men-watch-original-bracelet--box--id7195848.htm?SETLANG=en_US&SETCURR=USD

Not a bad example. However the gold platingv on the bracelet is fairly worn and there is a fair amount of stretch in the bracelet.

Watch head is not bad and movement is clean. My only reservation is the price..... and possibly the metal. Stainless Steel is more sought-after than gold cap in these models and seems to hold its value better in the C Shape.

I guess I would want to pay around 900 - 1000 pounds for a stainless example in very good condition, whereas the example you have highlighted would probably sell at auction for around 700 pounds.

I am a long-term collector of vintage Omega watches with a passion for Omega Constellations of the fifties and sixties. This blog is offered as an educational resource for potential and existing collectors who wish to learn more about the brand and avoid the traps and pitfalls of buying in a global market.